Fall River, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft testified Tuesday in the murder trial of Aaron Hernandez.
Kraft was on the stand for less than an hour, answering questions pertaining to a meeting he had with the then-Patriots tight end a few days after the June 17, 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd.
Hernandez is charged in the murder of Lloyd, a semi-pro football player from the Boston area who was dating the sister of Hernandez's fiancee.
Kraft said he spoke with Hernandez on June 19 at the Patriots' complex while the investigation into Lloyd's murder was ongoing and beginning to center around the player.
"I wanted to know whether he was involved," Kraft said in court.
When asked by prosecutor William McCauley about Hernandez's answer, Kraft responded, "He said he was not involved, that he was innocent, and that he hoped that the time of the murder came out because I believe he said he was in a club."
While it has been established that Hernandez was in a club earlier on the evening of the murder, evidence has suggested that Lloyd was shot multiple times at a North Attleboro, Massachusetts industrial park at 3:32 a.m. ET, well after most clubs have closed.
Defense attorneys asked Kraft about his relationship with Hernandez, questioning why the team had signed him to a $40 million contract in 2012.
"He's a very good player," said Kraft, who later answered a prosecutor's redirect question about the player's personal life by saying he didn't know much.
Hernandez has been incarcerated since his arrest on June 26, 2013. He was released by the Patriots later that day.
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